Arkin fallout: Col. Ken Allard quits NBC in disgust

posted at 10:10 pm on February 15, 2007 by Allahpundit

Not just over Arkin — bad taste, dubious ethics, and NBC’s general accelerating crappiness are also cited — but it’s Arkin’s hit job on the military that seems to stick most deeply in his craw. As well as the apologia offered for it by network news’s most dishonest, demagogic, bottom-feeding, and now highly paid vaudevillian.

Let’s call Allard … a conscientious objector.

When you don’t have skin in the game, war becomes a matter of sheer personal preference. Channel clickers are wielded, the soldier overlooked or, as we saw last week, even maligned as a mercenary without provoking a career-ending scandal.

It is, therefore, possible to argue that NBC is merely undergoing a delicate arabesque in anticipation of changing audience preferences and the long- hoped-for Democratic restoration (although journalists generally seem reluctant to raise the tough questions that should punctuate the 2008 campaign).

But has anyone else noticed the network’s precipitous retreat from journalistic and ethical standards? Not only were no apologies given and no pink slips issued for Arkin’s outburst, but on his MSNBC show last week, Keith Olberman went out of his way to defend this “valid criticism” of our military…

[S]ometimes the only way to show where you really stand is to vote with your feet. And so with great reluctance and best wishes to my former colleagues, with this column I am severing my 10-year relationship with NBC News.

Thanks to OlbyWatch for the tip. Exit question one: What took Allard so long? Exit question two: How long will it be until O’Reilly has him on his show to lower the boom on NBC? Will he wait ’til next week or are we in for a very special episode of the Factor tomorrow night?

Update (2/17): A lefty reader e-mails to ask why we haven’t updated with a link to this TV Newser item about Allard’s resignation. Answer: because I hadn’t seen it. Just like our lefty reader hasn’t seen this. Or has he?

Blowback

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How long will it be until O’Reilly has him on his show to lower the boom on NBC? Will he wait ’til next week or are we in for a very special episode of the Factor tomorrow night?

With an almost daily bash of NBC news and, more recently, proclaiming ABC news has overtaken NBC, I expect the interview will take place very quickly. Bill is looking for any nail to pound in NBC’s coffin.

As for Allard – good for him. That kind of “step up like a man” attitude is rare – even more rare in journalism.

Writing for the National Review, Michael Ledeen argued this week that only “know-nothings” could call American soldiers mercenaries. “Our fighters are where they are because they believe in something bigger than themselves.” And also because soldiers are members of a military community “where virtue does not equal narcissism.“

I like his choice of words in “arabesque”. In rhetoric, it means exactly what we daily see in the imams who say one to thing the West, another to their own. In classical ballet, it means a pose in which the right hand cannot see what the left hand is doing. The insight has been around for a long time.

A person of integrity doesn’t “find it late”. I second William Amos’ comment. The most likely explanation for the time gap between Arkin’s spew and the Colonel’s departure was that Col. Allard spoke with Arkin’s “chain of command” asking for at minimum a retraction, more likely a personally issued apology. On getting negative responses, he did what he knew he had to do. Folks don’t usually get to Colonel rank without the ability to make a hard decision.

I don’t have enough respect for the generals to know what to make of this. The Pentagon seems to have its share of ethically conflicted career men, motivated by their next shot behind the camera.

Any organization in which the sickening Wesley Clark can prosper is to be regarded with great suspicion.

But note, also, the hilarious contrast between a little known basketball retiree, who spews some irrelevent nonsense about how he “hates gays” — absent any other evidence whatsoever that he conducts himself in an untoward manner toward this community — and the NBA must immediately and publicly condemn him, and cut all ties from him, public and financial.

But a network news channel can employ a lying piece of human filth like Olberdouche, and engage in the most destructive sort of yellow journalism against our armed forces, and nobody bats an eye.

Let this serve as addendum #243,159 to the original report “America is Going to Hell in a Handbasket”.

Ken Allard is a man of convictions and NBC is going to be sorry that he left. This is NOT going to help NBC with their ratings, but it will help them with their rantings.

With the current tabloid journalism rampant on news programs these day, it’s no wonder that the ‘big three’ (as they like to call themselves) of NBC (No Brilliant Commentators), ABC (Avoid Being Conservative), and CBS (Continual BullSh!T) are loosing viewers faster than Helen Thomas doing a striptease.

Funny Mr Ken Allard Col Ret, did not have a contract or work for NBC for over a year. Not sure how you quit a job you no longer have or don’t hold. “Colonel Ken” was a contribution analyst at NBC for 9 years, but had a recent stroke.

However, Arkin is a total idiot for using the word mercenary. I agree, totally unacceptable. Besides the “free speech” he has a right blaa-blaa, its stupid and disrespectful to the military at best. The word mercenary has many meanings, but no doubt it was used by Arkin with a pejorative connotation. The true definition is found in Protocols of the Geneva Conventions, Article 47, Mercenaries. Needless to say it does NOT apply to our heroes in the US armed forces.

Good for the right wing media / blogs / Fox news to point to this out. That is great. However a bad taste comes into my mouth with the holier than thou attitude comes out with the burn them at the stake chant.

One reason Bill-O goes after NBC/MSNBC in large part is Keith Olberman. Funny Bill-O refused to speak Olberman’s name since 1998 but read Keith Olberman’s name on air (by mistake) while reading this little condemnation by Mr. Ken Allard Col. Ret.

To tell you how petty Bill-O is, he put GQ magazine on his NO BUY Boycott list. Why? No reason given but it was added to the list right after Keith Olberman was named Man of the Year by the magazine. Hummm how sad. Keith Olberman is the one that gets under Bill’s skin.

NBC bashing is ridiculous. This was ONE guy, one blog and that is it. Should NBC present his previous left wing liberal activities every time he writes? I don’t know? Fox news has right wing convicted felons and criminals on all the time, but they don’t mention it (Tom Delay, G Gordon Liddy, Newt Gingrich).

Regardless Arkin is an idiot and a left wing loony-toon and that is it. Should we condemn Fox news because married Bill-O told a woman he wanted to rub her (beep) with a (beep) in the (beep) and (beep). ha ha ha ha, all hypocrites and high and mighties shut up. Bash Arkin but UNLESS have more than Bill-O’s rant and raves for evidence that NBC is falling down the abyss of far left propaganda, stop talking. NBC has been rated by independent watch dogs as one of the most balanced networks overall. Only Bill-O and FOX are beating the anti-NBC drum. Fact is MSNBC has made gains on ratings and Bill-O’s ratings have fallen. Even “countdown” has better ratings at times with the key age demographics than “the factor”. I think its just bashing the competition.

Good job pointing to Arkin and his discraceful comments, but don’t blow it into a main stream paranoid media conspiracy network deal. It is just one idiot under NBC. Should they not have views of all kinds? I think it went over the line.

If you want to believe one cable talking head (Fox, Bill-O) and his vendetta over another network (NBC) or the right wing mantra: MSM, MSM, MSM, Liberal-Bias, Liberal-Bias….fine. However do some research or have facts and specifics.

If this ONE thing, Arkin’s comment is all the right wing media WATCH dogs can come up with, than that is pretty sad. You got tools like Shane Hannity requesting anyone with pictures of Al Gore in a private jet send them in. WOW! That is very sad. I think he takes commercial flights. Why not be worried about the environment? Is it not good for capitalism and big business.

Fox has several idiots that spew right leaning crud out all day. Rush Lobotomy says Obama is a “Half-rican”. He is a racist fat drug addict fool that admits he lies for the GOP, but every one is fine with that?

Look I learned something in church from Jesus, Those with out sin cast the first stone. Please calm down and give your righteous indignation a vacation. I love that we have “Watches” but it works both ways. We are all smart enough to filter the noise.

The only thing all this proves is we have freedom of speech and we are a great country we can all speak our minds, whether its favorable or not to the government. Like it or not people all over the country and world think the USA is in an immoral war. I can’t tell you how sad that makes me to even write that.

Mercenaries? No, they are brave patriots doing a great job, but in a poorly conceived and managed war, which lay at Bush’s feet 100%. They knew right before March 2003 data they had claimed true was faults. It was the data they based the war on and told the people. Now that makes me mad. One idiot with a blog does not make me that mad.